


It Was Then That I Knew

by lovelyday86



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24558814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyday86/pseuds/lovelyday86
Summary: Snapshots of the moment when someone falls in love.Alternatively, a collection of drabbles about people realizing their partner is "the one."
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno, Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 28
Kudos: 95





	1. Donghyuck / Jeno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Donghyuck Day

At the ripe age of 20 Donghyuck has come to the conclusion that a work - life balance is impossible. College often felt like juggling knives while treading water. Four semesters in and Donghyuck was really struggling to understand why anyone would put themselves through this. And yet he perseveres, a little for his parents, but mostly for himself and his own goals. If one day owning his own dance studio meant a double major in dance and business administration then somehow he was going to make it happen. 

To help with his tuition Donghyuck takes a job working in the mail room of his dormitory. It isn't a glamorous job, but when there was nothing to do he could catch up on school work and all his coworkers agreed that he had the best taste in music so every shift his playlist came through the speakers. The best part of his job was that no one cared if his boyfriend came to visit. 

Sometimes Donghyuck isn't sure why Jeno puts up with him, having late night take out from one of the cafeterias instead of going on proper dates and helping him with his chemistry homework while he could be playing Animal Crossing.

"Aren't you bored?" Donghyuck asks during one of their study sessions, an old Destiny's Child album playing in the background. 

Jeno looks up from his textbook. "I guess?" he pushes his glasses of the bridge of his nose. "I don't think anyone actually enjoys studying."

Donghyuck sighs. "That's not what I meant."

"Then?" 

"Being here," Donghyuck gestures around the mail room. "With me." For his clarification he gets a flick on the forehead. "Ouch!" he rubs the sore spot. 

"Sorry," Jeno says with a smile that makes him seem anything but. "You know that was a dumb question."

"Actually, I didn't," Donghyuck rolls his eyes. 

"You know," Jeno replies. "Just use this," he points to Donghyuck's chest, "instead of this." he flicks Donghyuck on the forehead again. 

Donghyuck isn't sure how to reply to that so he deflects. "Did you eat my last chicken tender?" 

"Mhm," Jeno mumbles in affirmation, but his eyes are already back on his book. 

It's just his luck that Donghyuck's birthday falls right around the time the school year ends. What that meant as a college student is that instead of planning a day to enjoy himself he was cramming for exams while living in a half packed up dorm room. Of course he had to worry about new living arrangements on top of everything else. 

After an endless amount of hours spent in the library, the last thing Donghyuck expects to see when he walks in his room is a bunch of balloons and Jeno seated at the edge of his bed.

"Uhm," Donghyuck starts, tripping over his words. "I thought you were gonna be studying all day today."

Jeno smiles and Donghyuck feels like he's run a marathon in the span of a few seconds. "I was, but you know there's no way I'd miss your birthday."

"I did?"

"Well," Jeno stands to give Donghyuck a hug. "Now you do."

It's a perfect evening. So perfect that Donghyuck (almost) thinks it would be worth flunking his last final. He asks Jeno to stay the night so they're sharing a bed not big enough for the two of them, legs tangled and together, when Donghyuck finally gets the courage to say what he's been meaning to say as soon as he opened the door a few hours before.

"You know I'm moving out of the dorm after finals..."

"So that's why you've been living out of a suitcase," Jeno's eyes twinkle in the low light of the room and Donghyuck wants to kiss him stupid. "It all makes sense now."

Donghyuck gives him another signature eye roll. "I'm being serious!" 

"Sorry," Jeno apologizes with a kiss to the forehead and Donghyuck hopes Jeno can't see his blush. "Say what you were gonna say."

"Since we're both, uhm, gonna need a place to stay maybe we could try getting an apartment together," Donghyuck is momentarily distracted by Jeno dabbing at the beads of sweat on his forehead with the corner of their blanket. "Two bedrooms or course! If you want! Whatever makes you comfortable."

"Two bedrooms sounds great," Jeno laces their fingers together. "One for us and one for our roommate."

Donghyuck has memories of specific birthdays that stick out in his mind. His 7th birthday where he got the bike he'd been asking for, his 10th where he got food poisoning and spent the day in the hospital, his 15th when he had his first kiss on the last day of school. He'd had a lot of special birthdays, but Donghyuck thinks this one might have just changed his life.


	2. Doyoung / Jaehyun

There are very few things in life Doyoung hates more than failure. It's a personality trait that made him a good student turned into a valuable employee. Unfortunately the same thing couldn't be said about the current state of his love life.

He'd held on too long, again, unwilling to let go of what was supposed to be his forever. It felt like a waste. Three good years together and one full of strife with absolutely nothing to show for it except an apartment that suddenly felt too big for only one person. The split is amicable, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less, and Doyoung puts himself on auto pilot while his heart tries to heal itself. Six months an unexpected promotion, and an expired lease later, Doyoung finds himself at the bar around the corner from his new townhouse.

Usually he doesn't allow himself to be picked up, but he'd made a promise to himself never to date within his friend group again. They were only just getting back to the status quo and it didn't feel like him and his ex were a burden to everyone around them. So he allows a cute boy with dimples to buy him a drink and after an hour of sexual innuendos thinly veiled as small talk Doyoung takes him home.

Jaehyun, the cute boy, fits into Doyoung's life so easily that's its alarming. Actually it's more accurate to say that it's alarming that Doyoung isn't alarmed in the slightest at the fact that Jaehyun was spending the night more often than not. It was strangely comforting to see two toothbrushes on the bathroom counter instead of just one.

It's a Sunday. Jaehyun is always slow in the mornings so Doyoung is surprised to see him up and dressed when he's barely rolling out of bed at 9 am.

"Did I get our plans mixed up?" Doyoung asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Since when do we eat breakfast instead of brunch?"

"We'll get some coffee on the way." Jaehyun throws a dress shirt at Doyoung's head even though it means he'll probably have to iron it again. "We're gonna go visit your grandma."

The long term care facility is in the countryside so Doyoung has enough time to steel his nerves. The family had all come to terms with his grandma's dementia diagnosis, but it was never easy to see the lack of recognition in her eyes whenever he came to visit.

It's just after 11 when they arrive and Doyoung's grandmother is sitting in a large recliner facing a window that overlooks the garden. She's tiny and frail now, so unlike the strong minded woman who argued with his teachers about his grades during parent - teacher conferences, and Doyoung hesitates. Jaehyun doesn't.

"Hi, halmeoni," Jaehyun greets with a bow. He hands her a bouquet of flowers. "I'm here to visit you today."

"Thank you," Doyoung's grandmother replies. She smells the flowers and smiles. Pink roses had always been her favorite. "Do I know you?"

Jaehyun shakes his head. "No, but it's a special occasion."

"What occasion is that?"

"It's a secret," Jaehyun stage whispers. He offers his arm. "May I take you for a walk?"

They find a bench under the shade of a large tree, Jaehyun sitting between the two of them. Doyoung still can't bring himself to speak so he just listens. He listens to Jaehyun charm his grandmother, listens to the way she laughs at Jaehyun's stories, the sound of it like a part of the soundtrack of his childhood.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Doyoung's grandmother asks after their lunch. 

"Halmeoni!" Jaehyun exclaims. "You're making me blush!"

She scoffs. "I'm not asking for me. I'm asking for my grandson." Doyoung freezes, only exhaling when Jaehyun grabs his hand under the table. "I can't remember his name or what he looks like anymore, but I still worry about him."

"I've never had a girlfriend," Jaehyun says with a smile, dimples on full display. "But I do have a boyfriend, I'm sorry to say."

Doyoung's grandmother nods. "My grandson came out to me when he was 15. I was the first person he told."

The memory is still so vivid in Doyoung's mind, how nervous he'd been, how much he'd cried after receiving his grandmother's unconditional love and acceptance. It makes him so inexplicably happy that even though his name and his face were forgotten, the moment wasn't. 

"Your memory is so good, halmeoni," Jaehyun jokes. "Are you sure you belong here?" 

"My paperwork says that I checked myself in voluntarily so I suppose my past self thought I did."

That makes all of them laugh. 

It's time for grandmother's nap so they bid their goodbyes. She fusses over Jaehyun, tucks his hair behind his ear and points out he's too skinny. He accepts all of it with a smile and promises to come visit again before leaving. Doyoung has his backed turned when his grandmother calls out. 

"Excuse me!" Doyoung turns back around to see his grandmother with her arms crossed and a very serious look on her face. "Are you the boyfriend?" 

"Yes," Doyoung confirms. "I am." 

"You better take care of him," she warns. "My mind may not be what it used to be, but a woman's intuition is never wrong. He's a keeper."

"I think he is too," Doyoung agrees, admits, accepts. He bows one more time before exiting the room. 

Doyoung slides into the passenger seat of the car and Jaehyun takes his hand as they drive off. 

"Do you think your grandmother enjoyed her birthday?" 

"Yeah," Doyoung presses a kiss to the back of Jaehyun's hand. "I think she did."


	3. Doyoung / Taeyong

"I'm going to kill him." Even if it's just a thought it's still treason, but Doyoung can't bring himself to care.

The king is missing.

By his command almost every member of the royal security forces are scouring the palace grounds looking for King Taeyong. It wasn't unlike the king to take walks without security, but it had been an hour since any of the staff had seen him and the security footage only showed King Taeyong entering the palace library, but not exiting it.

Doyoung checks the library himself and groans when he notices that a door leading to one of the many balconies is slightly ajar. It's two stories up, but it's an easy climb down for the king. They'd been doing it since they were children.

Some might call it fate that the king's childhood friend would eventually become his head of security, but Doyoung knows that the royal family never left things to chance. He was likely chosen and put in King Taeyong's path while they were children based on his temperament and family background. It's not something that bothers him even though sometimes he thinks it should. 

By the age of nine Doyoung, son of a decorated admiral, and Crown Prince Taeyong are inseparable. They even attended school together (Doyoung knows now what kind of logistical nightmare that must have been and he hopes that when the time comes the king will have his children educated in the safety of the palace). They'd graduated high school together, served in the military together, and maybe there is no such thing as fate but Doyoung is still grateful to be the one to walk through life in the shadow of the king. There was no one in the world who knew him better than Doyoung did. 

Doyoung will always associate the smell of sea with his childhood. Him and the king used to spend their summers on the shores of the south side of the palace, not a care in the world. Over the years the palace had been modernized, but centuries later one of it's best defenses is still the fact that the structure is surrounded by water on two sides. An assault by water had always been unlikely and by chance if the special forces of any country were to try their presence would be known as soon as they set foot on dry land. Doyoung had his ways of making sure of that. 

The wind whips at Doyoung's face and there's sand in his shoes, but none of that matters when he sees King Taeyong's silhouette come into view. 

"Your highness," Doyoung says to alert the king to his presence. "I'm going to have cameras installed in the library."

King Taeyong rises slowly, dusting the sand off his pants as he does. "That's a shame Chief Kim. The library is one of my favorite places to kiss you."

Even the chilly night air can't keep the heat from rushing to Doyoung's face. It makes the king laugh. 

"Go on, Doyoungie," the king continues. "Tell them you found me."

"I've located the king," Doyoung says, pressing the side of his ear piece that felt like an extension of his own body. "I'll bring him back myself. Everyone back to your posts." He hears murmurs of confirmation before pulling it out completely. 

"Are you very upset with me?" the king asks even though he knows the answer to his own question. "I wasn't gone for very long."

"Your highness might catch a cold if we stay out here any longer," Doyoung replies. He can barely keep from rolling his eyes. The king hadn't bothered to bring a jacket with him. 

"I knew you'd be the one to find me," King Taeyong continues. 

"There is nowhere you could go that I wouldn't follow, your highness." There's a lump in Doyoung's throat. 

"Come," the king says, reaching out. "Hold my hand, Captain Kim. Your king commands it."

Doyoung does as he's told, pretends it doesn't shred his heart to pieces to lace their fingers together like it's something normal, something that's allowed. 

"No matter what's to come, my heart will always belong to you."

Maybe it's a side effect of the ocean air at sunset or maybe it's the way King Taeyong rubs a thumb over his knuckles, but just for a moment Doyoung allows himself to believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just started watching The King: Eternal Monarch the other day and got inspired~


	4. Johnny / Taeyong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On Twitter I said that if Johnny posted something for Taeyong's birthday I would add them to the series and here we are

Taeyong is slightly offended that his friends think he need to be set up. It's not as if he was a divorced middle aged man with two kids and a mortgage who was unsatisfied with the services of match dot com. (He was busy, okay? He had other priorities). Taeyong is fully offended that his friends also thought he had a type. He doesn't have a type. He's not that shallow. No way. 

Which is why it feels like a betrayal when his mouth goes dry as he spots his date slowly making their way to his table. Curse tall boys with good hair. 

Taeyong is supposed to be on a blind date, but he cheated and looked through Yuta's phone to see who he was being set up with. It wasn't that hard to find Johnny Suh on Facebook which was linked to his Instagram which ended with Taeyong accidentally liking a picture of a sunset from three years ago in the middle of the night. He'd un-liked the picture immediately, but the damage was done and every step Johnny took towards him felt like another nail in the coffin. Here lies Lee Taeyong, professional social media stalker. 

The date goes way better than Taeyong expects. They're enjoying themselves so much that after dinner they walk to a small cafe a few blocks away instead of calling it a night. Johnny gets a coffee so dark that it looks more like sludge than something edible and Taeyong orders way too many pastries for someone who just had dinner. 

"I don't think I've ever met someone who likes sweets as much as you," Johnny comments. He sits crossed legged on a plush chair across from Taeyong. His jeans hug his thighs just right and it's annoying and distracting at the same time. 

"For me it's sugar and for you it's probably caffeine. What even is that? Fossil fuel?" 

Johnny laughs. "So what else are you into? Long walks on the beach?" Taeyong rolls his eyes. "Sunsets, perhaps?" 

"Ugh," Taeyong slumps in his chair, taking another bite of his chocolate croissant to console himself. "I guess I'm caught."

"You stalked me." Johnny looks so cute when he smirks. It just isn't fair. "This was supposed to be a blind date."

"So you didn't look at my account then?" Taeyong questions, eyebrow raised. 

"Oh, I totally did." Johnny ignores Taeyong's not so silent scoff. "But only because you cheated first."

Without a witty comeback Taeyong takes a sip of his hot chocolate, eyes meeting Johnny's mischievous ones over the rim of his mug. 

It's been five months and two weeks since their first date and Taeyong smiles fondly at Johnny from across his kitchen counter. Feeding his boyfriend home cooked meals had quickly become one of his favorite things to do.

Johnny is wearing the gray hoodie Taeyong gifted him recently. There was no real reason for the gift. Maybe Taeyong thought it would be nice to be hugged by Johnny while he was wearing it. He'd proved himself right when Johnny greeted him with one after arriving at the apartment. 

Taeyong is, by his own admission, a terribly corny person and one of the qualities that had endeared Johnny to him so quickly was the fact that Johnny never teased him about it. He'd tease Taeyong about how he ate more candy than a child in kindergarten or the fact that Taeyong couldn't sleep without a night light. However, Johnny never complained about taking borderline tacky tourist pictures or commemorating innocuous events like their 16th week together. He bought Taeyong greeting cards (most of which had to be edited by hand because Hallmark had yet to catch up with the rest of the world) and heart shaped boxes of chocolates. Taeyong spent a lot of time wondering how he got so damn lucky. 

"Are you sure?" Taeyong blurts out. 

Johnny, mid swallow, has a mild coughing fit before he can answer. "About the noodles?" He points at the bowl of jjampong with his chopsticks. "They're the best I've ever had."

"No, uhm," Taeyong is suddenly aware that he's about to put Johnny on the spot so he backtracks. "Nevermind. It's not that important."

Johnny's eyebrows knit together ever so slightly. "Everything you have to say is important to me."

That statement alone is more than enough for Taeyong, but he continues anyway, to ease Johnny's worry more than anything else. "I meant me," he shrugs. "Are you sure about me?" 

The slight pause in the conversation is enough to make Taeyong's confidence dip, but it's only for a moment. 

"You know how we always go grocery shopping on the 7th of the month and again on the 21st?" Johnny asks. 

Taeyong nods, confused. 

"Even if the weather is terrible and even though we don't live together?" 

"Yeah, but I'm not sure where you're going with - " 

"That's how sure I am about you," Johnny says, mixing his noodles into the sauce. "Rain or shine, coupons or no coupons."

It's four days until the 21st of the month and Taeyong can't wait to go his local supermarket, basket in on hand while the other linked with Johnny's.

**Author's Note:**

> We've been going through impossibly tough times recently. Click [here](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#)  
> for ways you can help those most affected 
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/lovelyday_86)  
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lovelyday86)


End file.
